Affordability is a top issue this election cycle. How is it shaping what voters do?

It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, it is the top issue for many people this election cycle. Voters continue to say that the cost of living is their top issue. The economy is the dominant issue this election cycle. Affordability is at the top of many people's minds as they vote in this year's midterms. Inflation was up 3.7 percent from September 2025. Fuel prices have soared due to the war in Iran. And people across the country are feeling squeezed. It cost me like 80 bucks to fill up my tank. And that's just not sustainable. Owen Smith is a registered Republican from Des Moines, Iowa. And it seems like it was a completely avoidable conflict that has just rocketed up our prices and mine personally. And so I don't support the candidates who are supportive of the president's policy in that area. Smith told NPR that he split his ticket in local elections. But nationally? He voted for Democrats because of the war. Consider this. The cost of living has been a major issue for lots of voters this election cycle. How are some of them feeling as midterms come to a close? From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow. It's Consider This from NPR. Polls close on Tuesday, bringing the 2026 midterm election cycle to a close. Wages are still not keeping up with rising prices. And for many Americans, it's gotten even harder to make ends meet. To understand how some voters are thinking about inflation, we are checking back in with three people from around the country. We're joined by Alex Garcia, who runs a bar in Seattle, Washington. Hey, Alex. Hey, Scott. And Heather Becker, who is in the trucking business and based in Dilworth, Minnesota. Hey. Hey. Hi, Scott. And also Chuck Lockhart, a retired veteran in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Hey, Chuck. Hey. How are you doing? Good to be with all three of you. Let's start with this. We last talked in July. Has your economic situation gotten better or worse or about the same? Alex, I'll start with you. I would definitely say it's gotten worse. Like, nothing's gone down. If anything, it just goes up, like the cost of gas and everything. So if I was struggling before, I'm definitely struggling more now. Yeah. What about you, Heather? Definitely worse. Being in the trucking industry, the fuel prices, rising fuel prices. Thank goodness for the Mudflap app. That helps you save a little money. But it's eating up about 25% of what the truck brings home a week. That's a lot. What was that percentage at, like, the beginning of the year? I know last year, I think the percentage was, like, maybe it runs, like, 18%, 16%, somewhere around there. So it's definitely a big from last year. Yep. Yeah. So that's a big difference. How about you, Chuck? How are things compared to July? It's a mixed bag. I mean, I sold my house and I moved. So I have some resources that I didn't have before. But overall, the price at the pump is just killing everybody. The country runs on diesel. I mean, if it isn't moved by a truck, it's moved by a train. And they both burn diesel. So if the price of diesel stays high, there's no way you're going to. You're going to drive down inflation. See, Heather, Chuck says that you guys are the backbone of the economy. Yep. Yep. Heather, Alex, do either of you feel like any part of the economy is good from your perspective? Or is it all just kind of a cascade of negative news? Well, I own a bar. So, like, I just see it every day. It's like more and more of our customers keep losing their jobs or they're scared to lose their jobs or, like, a coworker lost a job. And so I have not seen anything that, like, makes it. makes it better right now or, like, where people are getting jobs. All I hear about all day long at the bar is just that, you know, times are tough. And so it's. Yeah, I just haven't seen anything positive yet. Yeah. And, Heather, I assume the high price of diesel is the be-all and end-all as far as you're concerned. Exactly. Yep. Yeah. And, yeah, I mean, yeah, house sales, you know, I think it was Chuck that said he sold his house. Well, he's lucky. We've had our house on the market last year and this year and it hasn't moved. I mean, you know, it's. Nobody's buying anything. Everybody's renting. It's true. You know, it took my parents more than six months to even get an offer on their house this year. Oh, yeah. You know, I'll say to the three of you that when we've talked to you before, we've kind of purposely made the conversation about the economy and stayed away from the election of it, just to better understand, but it is election day. And I'm wondering, first of all, did all of you vote? Did any of you not vote? Yeah, I voted. I'm voting today. Okay. Yep, I voted and my husband who drives truck did an absentee ballot. How much were you thinking about the economy as you decided which candidates to support? 100%. Yep, definitely 100%. Yeah. My daughter is 36 and she never voted. And she's like, Mom, I have to vote because we can't live like this. Yeah. I guess, and Alex, I can start with you and we can go around. What are your hopes for the election? Like, do you think, let's say, let's say Democrats do regain control of Congress. Do you think any sort of change being put in place? By this election could affect the economy? I would say 100% it could. The downside is I just think sometimes I'm so disillusioned that I don't want to make the mistake of being too excited for change because it's just, it's sad when it doesn't happen. So it's really hard to try to be optimistic because I feel like I've had so many election years where you really think, oh, this is going to change. This is going to get better. And then it doesn't get better. But I am, but I care, right? I really would love to see things get better and get some kind of relief. So, yes, I'm hoping, but I'm trying not to get too excited. Chuck, what do you think? What are your realistic hopes or non-hopes for actual change? Well, seeing, you know, for a minute I thought back to the election of 74 right after Watergate and that was. It was just a huge victory for the Democrats and they tried to get some things done. But, and we had a lot of inflation then too and unemployment was starting to creep in and it just got bogged down. You know, the solutions got bogged down for, for whatever. And what I see here is if anything can come out of this election. Is a stoppage of combat operations in the Middle East because that's what's making things so unstable. In terms of the prices of fuel and everything else. Yes, yes, yes. So, Heather, what about you? What are your honest feelings about whether the election will lead to any change in your life? I hope it does. I'm cautiously hopeful because, you know, it's like you can only make so many cuts in your own personal budget until it's like, okay, what do we do now? What do we sell? What do we, you know, stuff like that. I had heard on the news earlier this week with checks to the, about the war. It said on the news, on our news station said that fuel costs rose 70% since the day the war started. That's, that's just shocking. I mean, to hear it like that. So it's, yeah, it's hard on everybody. I mean, it just, and like I said, it keeps doing the trickling. It keeps doing the trickling. It's like, you know, somebody loses their job. Well, then a daycare loses a kid. Well, then somebody can't go out to eat or, you know, people lose restaurants and everything. On that note, last question for you, Alex. Last time we talked to you, it was the height of the World Cup. It was good time for your bar. I'm curious, is election night a good night for a bar or not really? It depends. I mean, I've done parties, you know, every time there's been like a major election and things have not changed. Things have not turned out sometimes, like, you know, who we wanted to win didn't happen. And then it just turns into like this super depressing party. So, um, I have a feeling, you know, we'll probably have a good turnout of people just wanting to see what the results are going to be. Well, I'll be hosting our coverage, so no trips to the bar for me. That was Alex Garcia of Seattle, Washington, Heather Becker of Dilworth, Minnesota, and Chuck Lockhart in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Thanks to all three of you for talking to us again. We appreciated it. You're welcome. Thank you. Yeah, thanks for having us. NPR's Stephen Basaja contributed to this report. It was produced by Kai McNamee and Karen Zamora with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. Our director is Jonas Adams. It was edited by Timbeat Aramis. Our executive producer is Courtney Dorning. I'm Scott Detrow.